Chernobyl Diaries
Chernobyl Diaries is a 2012 American horror film which stars Jesse McCartney, Jonathan Sadowski, Devin Kelley, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Nathan Phillips, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, and Dimitri Diatchenko. The film, which was co-produced and directed by Bradley Parker (as well as being produced by Oren Peli), uses the real-life 1986 Chernobyl Disaster for its story. [3][4] It was shot on location in Hungary and Serbia. [5] The plot concerns a group of young people who make an illegal visit to the abandoned Ukrainian city of Pripyat within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone only to discover they are not alone among the ruins. The film has generally received negative reviews. It has also drawn criticism from several charities helping the victims of the Chernobyl Disaster over the sensationalization of the tragedy. PLOT A group of young adults, Chris (Jesse McCartney), his girlfriend Natalie (Olivia Taylor Dudley), and their mutual friend Amanda (Devin Kelley), are traveling across Europe. They stop in Kiev, Ukraine to visit Chris's brother, Paul (Jonathan Sadowski) before heading on to Moscow where Chris intends to propose to Natalie. After a night on the town, Paul suggests that they go on an "extreme tour" of the abandoned town of Prypiat which sits in the shadow of Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, site of the infamous disaster. They are joined by backpacking couple, Norwegian Zoe (Ingrid Bolso Berdal) and Australian Michael (Nathan Phillips). The group is initially denied access to the city by the Ukranian military but their tour guide, Uri (Dimitri Diatchenko) takes them in through an unmanned, forested check point. They spend a few hours exploring the abandoned city, which was home to Chernobyl workers and their families before they were forced to evacuate over night. When Uri takes them into an apartment building, he hears a noise. When he slowly goes to investigate, a bear comes out from an adjacent room and runs away. Frightened, the group leaves the building. Uri comments on the incident, telling the group he has been coming to Chernobyl for five years and has always seen a dog or wolves but never a bear. As the group prepares to leave, Uri finds the wires in his van have been chewed through and tries to radio for help to no avail. As night falls, the group begins arguing and affixing blame. Noises are heard outside and Uri goes out with a flashlight and a gun, accompanied by Chris. Shots are heard and Paul runs out to investigate, only to return with Chris whose leg has been severely mauled, seemingly by dogs who attack the van. The next morning, Paul, Michael, and Amanda go out looking for Uri whom, according to Chris, was taken by "them". They follow a trail of blood to find Uri's mutilated body in an underground complex. They take his gun and Geiger counter and barely escape a group of mutant creatures. They return to the van, planning to hike to the nearest checkpoint but Chris cannot move his leg. Chris and Natalie stay behind while the others go to get help. The group comes across abandoned vehicles in a parking lot and find a bus with bullet holes exiting from inside it. In the bus they also find broken guns and a bloody guard uniform. Michael finds replacement wires for the van, so they head back toward their vehicle. After being chased by dogs, they reach the van by nightfall and find it ripped apart and flipped over. Natalie's camera video reveals she and Chris were taken by the mutants. They go in search of the two, finding only a traumatized Natalie. She is re-abducted by a mutant when the rest of the group gets distracted. Paul, Michael, Amanda, and Zoe attempt to find her, but in the process are swarmed by a horde of mutants. They run to a fallout shelter, but Michael is captured. The three continue on, finding Chris's engagement ring for Natalie but no sign of Chris himself. As they are chased, Zoe too is taken. After a confrontation with the creatures, Paul and Amanda continue on through the fallout shelter which comes out in Chernobyl itself. As they navigate the reactor, they find Natalie dead, apparently from radiation sickness. They continue on, only to also become poisoned with radiation as their skin begins to blister. They exit the reactor and are confronted by Ukrainian military personnel. Blinded from radiation poisoning, Paul is shot dead when he approaches the soldiers. Amanda passes out and awakens on a gurney where several doctors, clad in protective hazmat suits, inform her that she is in a hospital. The doctors talk amongst themselves and reveal that the "creatures" were escaped patients and noting that they have been recaptured and the other Americans are dead. They decide Amanda, having seen the escapes, must not be allowed to leave, so they throw her into a dark isolated room where a group of mutants attacking her, and is dead. CAST *Ingrid Bolsø Berdal - as Zoe *Dimitri Diatchenko - as Uri *Olivia Taylor Dudley - as Natalie *Devin Kelley - as Amanda *Jesse McCartney - as Chris *Nathan Phillips - as Michael *Jonathan Sadowski - as Paul *Alex Feldman - as Medic Goldshmidt *Kristof Konrad - as Medic Grotzky *Pasha Lychnikoff - as Doctor